See Jason D.'s transom
repair page that he put together when he restored his 1980 SSV-163. Go

Interior
Lightingby Tom BrownI cooked up a really
simple floor lighting system. There are wooden strips that run on the
inside of the rub rails on each gunnel so I just wood screwed my lights
to that. Also, I built small aluminum reflectors. The lights themselves
are a stock white marker light that I bought at a heavy truck supplier
for about $1.50 each. They're very neat looking, easy to mount, and
they're bright. I hammer formed the reflectors with a shot bag and body
hammer, but it wouldn't be necessary to get so carried away. Just
screwing the lights to the wood would be plenty sufficient. Anyway, the
picture I am going to attach is a bit blurry. I must have shook the camera
during the exposure and I'm way too lazy to go back out to the garage
and take another shot. Also, this flash shot doesn't do justice to
the amount of light these tiny lights put out. The amount of light
is absolutely perfect. In the dead of night I could easily see a penny
on the floor at a glance from any seat. A girl I took with me was
easily able to look through her purse for an aspirin. The entire
floor is lit and the lights are shaded by the interior panels so
you can't see the bulbs unless you get down on your hands and knees. I've got a
light on each side of the back seat, one on each side of the front seats
and one under the dash in the center. They're all on the same switch.
I'm going to put a light in the bilge too.

Warning:
Asbestos Puttyfrom a message by
Jonathan Willis on the message board:(can anyone confirm
that asbestos in putty form can be harmful, what years it was used
and have advice on how to handle?)I have been reviewing
assembly line drawings on my 74 V-187 Swinger and have noticed something I thought
everyone should know. Anyone repairing an Glastron of 60's or 70's vintage
should be aware of the
use of asbestos putty throughout their boat. This compound was used to
adhere transom plates
prior to glassing, positioning foam blocks in the upper hull and other
misc. uses. Please
be very careful when removing foam or repairing transom rot, be sure to
use a filter mask
and gloves at the very least.

Save
your outdrivea message from Mark
Warren about the remote gear lube reservoir for MercruisersJust got my outdrive
back from the performance shop having the new upper gear set set up. Came home
with a must have accessory for the thing. Mercruiser has a remote gear
lube resivor kit so that
you can keep up with drive lube level and condition. At about a hundred
bucks it's even
a better addition than a drive shower. Wouldn't have helped the the second
set of gears (over
powered) but it would have saved me the first set that the seal was leaking
and lost all the
lube.$550 vs $100. Mark Tennnessee Valley Chapter

Todd: These work
great. I had one on a boat once. Not only are you always sure of your lube
level, thelube holds up longer
according to Mercury.

Choosing
a prop - one good waya message from Dennis
Ginn:This looks to me
like the best way to get the perfect prop every time. Start with what you have or 1
up or down from it if you want more or less. Then if you want to try others
they will take
the blades back in trade on new blades (they are inerchangable) If you
break one then replace
the blade not the whole prop and they are composite so they are light and accelerate
quickly. Check out their site: http://www.piranhapropellers.com/

Bilge
DrainingI had a soft place
under the passenger seat pedestal in my Scimitar. So I decided to cut it out and replace
a section. When I cut it out it was full of water underneath. Turns out
what looked like
just grommets were actually rubber plugs. Three of them in the engine well
one for the center
and one for each side. Thought it all drained by removing the rear drain
plug. Wrong Should
be able to pick up more speed now that the boat is probably 300 pounds
lighter. Not to mention
keeping it from rotting any other parts. If you were like me and didn't
know check to see
if yours has them still in place. jagdoc@bellsouth.net

Mercruiser
Repair ManualGot a Mercruiser?
Don't buy an aftermarket repair manual. There's no comparison to the factory
shopmanuals. If your
drive is before Alpha I it's more than likely in the excellently written
and illustrated2 volume set titled:
Mercruiser Service Manual #1 “Stern Drive Units and Marine Engines”
Pt.
No. 90-68648 Vols. 1&2

Clearcoating
over metalflakeI just picked up
my 1979 CVX -16 after having the clear coat re-done. The results were incredible!
After several years of trying various products to restore the metal flake
with only limited
success, I have concluded that the only real sollution is a new clear coat application.
I had a local auto body business do the sanding and application. It looked
so good that
I had him repaint the solid color above and below the rub rail to the chine
line. I had the solid
color electronically matched at an auto body store. It matched perfectly. A friend of
mine had his done shortly after with the same results. His boat was severely faded. The
cost was relatively inexpensive. The total bill for the clear coat and
paint was $600. The boat was stripped
of all hardware and windshield before going to the body shop. I would suggest shopping
around. The smaller body shops are your best bet.

Make
your own windshieldTip from message
board by Zane Hagerott

You can go to your
local plastic distributer
and make your own with polycarbonate sheets. You can bend this stuff to
90 degrees with a sheet
metal brake and it won't crack and it can be cut with a jig saw. Hope this
helps.

Fuel
Flow ProblemsFrom a chain of
emails

Engine problems

A quick test to see
if you are running out of fuel is to shoot carb cleaner down the throat
of the carb while itis running wide
open. the carb cleaner is being used as a fuel at this point and if the
engine is lackingenough fuel this
will pick up the engine power. you should be able to quickly notice a rise
in engine RPM ifthis works. At this
point, check the fuel system some more.

A problem I had with
my Interceptor for 2 years (ever since I bought it) was it lacked power.
Fully loaded itcould not plane
out. With several passengers, I would have to have them shift forward until
it planed out. Itsounded great, the
plugs looked even. The timing was set by having someone drive it wide open
andajusting the distrubtor
for max RPM. I was considering replacing the engine. Then I found it, 2
plug wireswere crossed. nobody
could detect it. This included several frinds who are also gear heads.

Side note to the
above: The timing was set for best RPM at full throttle because I could
not distinguish thetiming marks. There
are several groves cut in my crank pulley that act like timing marks. I
didn't knowwhich one to use
so I did it my way. Another problem is that the ring (with the timing marks)
on theharmonic balance
on the front of the engine can slip. You can set the timing according to
the marks, but ifthe marks are not
in the right place, all you are doing is setting your timing wrong.

****How many rpm's are
you turning at full throttle? It could be the wrong size prop, or the prop
could beslipping, if it
is a Mercruiser.I agree with the
other folks though about timing. I would set the timimg for total advance
regardless ofwhere that puts
you initial advance.I would bet that
you should have 28-30 degrees of advance at about 1500-2000 rpm. I had
a similiarproblem on my MCM
150 and it was total advancethat fixed it. Again,
it could be prop size/pitch. I would imagine that if the carb was running
out of fuel, itwould produce an
evident stumblewhen the fuel bowl
ran out of gas. That has been my experience with cars and drag racing,
so I wouldassume it would
be the same on a boat.

****An air leak in the
gas line may cause the fuel pump to "suck air" you would still have pressure,
but notenough fuel. There
could be a restriction in the fuel line(crimped line). you could get a
can of gas and ashort line to the
pump to check that out. The carb has three parts. 1- the idle circut (that
sounds ok) 2- thehigh speed circut
(this is for normal running.) 3- the power circut. There is a power valve
in the carb(bottom of the float
bowl) with a vacuum operated rod that opens it under a load or zero vacuum
(thatcould be the problem)
If the motor was ever replaced you could have an automotive cam in it.
Marine camsare designed to
give you more horsepower at higher RPM because that is where they run (I
dont know ofany easy way of
checking this out.) Check your centrifical advance. the timming should
advance when youspeed up the motor.
I don't know right off-hand how much advance you should have, but you should
haveboth vacuum and
centrifical advance to total about 30 degrees (give-or-take) I won't even
confuse youabout cam timming,
you have enough to check out as it is. Good luck.

****Have you checked
to see what kind of fuel pressure you are getting out the fuel pump? The
Goodbook says (AC pump)
"3 1/2 to 4 1/2 p.s.i. and should be constant between idle and 1000 rpm.
If thepressure is too
low or high, or varies at different speeds, remove pump for repair. If
fuel pump pressurechecks out correctly
after a high speed problem, overhaul the Carb." My 120 has a by-pass assembly
nearthe fuel pump and
Filter assembly, check that and make sure it's clear. Also recheck the
hoses for kinks,clogs and restrictions.
hope this helps.. Jeff